(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a confectionery product having a protein to carbohydrate relative weight ratio higher than 1. In particular, the invention relates to a diet bar for use as part of a low calorie diet, especially a very low calorie diet.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Very low calorie formula diet containing the minimum daily requirements of each of the minerals, proteins and digestible carbohydrates required by man have achieved remarkable commercial success. Such diets are usually formulated as a dry powder for use when mixed with water, either to produce a savory flavour drink resembling a soup, or a sweet flavour drink resembling a milk shake. The diets are designed for use as a sole source of nutrition over a lengthy period of time and their use can lead to significant weight losses.
However, since the diet is consumed in liquid form any desire on the part of the dieter to chew what is consumed as the daily diet is frustrated unless the dieter consumes something other than the formula diet itself. On the other hand, if the dieter does consume something other than the formula diet itself out of a desire to chew something, that can negate the effect of the diet and lead to a smaller than expected weight loss, with consequent disappointment, and/or to the breaking of the diet altogether.
While some meal replacement bars for use in conjunction with very low calorie formula diets have been proposed, such bars have to date proved to be relatively unsatisfactory and generally do not meet objectives of supplying protein without an excess of carbohydrate, due to the requirements of the manufacturing technology. High protein/low carbohydrate baked or compressed products are known. However, known bars made by a confectionery process have a poor taste and provide a substitute for one or more meals in a very low calorie dietary regimen which is much less palatable than the liquid formula diet itself.
In order to produce a confectionery meal replacement bar for use in conjunction with a very low calorie formula diet it is necessary to overcome a number of interrelated problems. Firstly, the bar must contain the necessary meal replacement level of protein in the overall diet. While that may vary depending on the form of presentation of the supplement, generally a bar should contain sufficient protein to provide at least about one-fifth and preferably at least about one-third of a day""s supply of protein within the confines of the particular dietary regimen chosen. That will usually mean the bar must contain at least 5 grams of protein, and typically from about 10 to about 18 grams of protein, though larger amounts of protein are not necessarily excluded.
Secondly, the bar while having a sweet taste and not exceeding the low energy content requirements of the diet, may at the same time provide a proportion of the other nutrients, say from about one-fifth to about one-third of a day""s supply of, for example, carbohydrate, fat, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. This is not obligatory, and will depend on the type of dietary programme which is envisaged. Thus the bar may contain a sufficient proportion of minerals and vitamins to enable it to be used as a meal replacement without detracting from the mineral and/or vitamin levels supplied in the daily diet of which it is a part, in which case the marked taste of any such minerals and/or vitamins must be sufficiently masked.
Lastly, despite the previous requirements imposed, the bar must be palatable, and at the same time sufficiently low in calories so that it is compatible with a very low calorie dietary regime.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,566 discloses bars which partially overcome the current disadvantages of such dietary bars and can be made by conventional confectionery processes. These bars utilize for the carbohydrate component a mixture of a digestible and an indigestible carbohydrate in suitable forms, thus allowing the creation of a plastic mass that can be shaped or formed by extrusion or rolling and subsequent cutting into a bar shape or other appropriate form. This bar contains an amount of carbohydrate material which is at least equal in weight to the weight of proteinaceous material, and may be up to 10 times the weight of the proteinaceous material, whereby the desired reduction in calorie content is achieved by a greater or a lesser admixture of an indigestible, or poorly digestible non-fibrous carbohydrate; the use of a non-fibrous material in this context reduces the viscosity of the mixture and results in bars with improved organoleptic properties.
However, such a product is imposed with burdensome requirements because it must possess a minimum percentage of indigestible carbohydrate of molecular weight lower than 5000, in order to reduce the calorific content, and remain palatable.
It has now surprisingly been found that the use of certain specific proteinaceous material alone or in combination with others, provide an excellent material for producing a bar having a higher proportion of protein than carbohydrate, and that remains chewy and palatable. The use of such proteinaceous material having a dissociation between water absorption properties and other functional characteristics render them suitable for such high protein bars without any reverse effect on the palatability of the bar. Furthermore, this confectionery product containing a majority of proteins possesses very good organoleptic properties and satisfies the dieter between each meal.
The present invention also provides a bar with higher nutritional quality at the same time as lower calorific content.
Proteinaceous materials usually used for the production of previous confectionery bars having a protein:carbohydrate weight ration lower than 1 possess associated functionality such as high water absorption and high emulsification properties. It has been surprisingly found that proteinaceous material having dissociated functionally such as low water absorption and medium to high emulsification properties are suitable for the production of confectionery bar having a protein: carbohydrate relative weight ratio higher than 1.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a solid substitute for one or more meals in a very low calorie dietary regimen, which is at least as palatable as the various formula diet products or the conventional foods used, and which has a chewy texture.
Another object of the invention is to provide a palatable confectionery product which is sufficiently low in calories so that it is compatible with any very low calorie dietary regime.
It is a yet further object of the invention to provide a confectionery product as a bar containing a relatively high proportion of protein and having a good, chewy, yet open texture, with good organoleptic characteristics.
It is a yet further object of the invention to provide a confectionery bar which can be used as a vehicle for other special ingredients of a dietary, nutritional or pharmaceutical nature, without imposing an undue burden in terms of calorie content which might impede the use of the bar for such purposes.
In accordance with the foregoing objects, it has surprisingly been found that certain proteinaceous materials alone or in combination with mixtures of digestible and/or optionally indigestible, or poorly digestible carbohydrates, can be used for the manufacture of such a confectionery product in the form of a bar having a highly acceptable texture, and in which the amount of protein exceeds the total amount of carbohydrate.
Such products can provide the chewy texture required by the dieter, and are otherwise organoleptically acceptable, providing the necessary level of proteinaceous material without an excessive intake of carbohydrate. The formulations in accordance with the invention also surprisingly aid in masking the taste of any minerals and/or trace elements which are optionally present.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a smooth and chewy confectionery bar comprising:
proteinaceous material having low water absorption properties and medium to high emulsification properties;
carbohydrate material selected from the group consisting of: digestible carbohydrate, poorly digestible carbohydrate, indigestible carbohydrate, and mixtures thereof,
wherein the proteinaceous material and the carbohydrate material are present in a relative weight ratio of from about 1:0 to about 1:0.999.
Generally, the proteinaceous material used for the present invention comprise a mixture of xe2x80x9cbindingxe2x80x9d proteins and xe2x80x9cfillerxe2x80x9d proteins but some of them may also be used alone. The requirement for such a mixture is that whatever protein or blend of proteins is used, it should have low water absorption yet still be capable of binding the ingredients to give a plastic extrudable mass. In practice, this translates to a dissociation between water absorption and the other functional properties of the proteinaceous material or protein blend. The important factors are thus:
1) Low water absorption;
2) Emulsification properties better than would be expected from the low water absorption, thus medium to high;
3) Viscosity not as important, but low to medium preferred.
The xe2x80x9cbindingxe2x80x9d protein is selected from the group consisting of: soy protein isolates, whey protein, whole milk protein, pea protein, egg albumen, and wheat gluten.
Each binding protein used herein should possess the following dissociated functionality: Low water absorption, and medium to high emulsification properties.
The xe2x80x9cfillerxe2x80x9d protein is selected from the group consisting of: calcium caseinates, soy proteins, whey protein, pea protein, wheat gluten, and egg albumen.
Properties that the filler proteins should possess are: low functionality in general, with in particular low water absorption and low viscosity.
Although in general each of these proteins may be used alone for the production of such a confectionery bar (except for the whey proteins, pea proteins, wheat gluten, and egg albumen that, when used as fillers thst can not be used alone), it is preferred to use them in combination, particularly, the preferred ratios used ranges between 75:25 and 25:75 (filler to binder). The most preferred ratio is 54 parts of filler protein for 46 parts of binder.
The carbohydrate material comprised in such a bar may optionally comprise indigestible carbohydrate or poorly digestible carbohydrate having a molecular weight lower or equal to 18,000, such as, for example, polydextrose.
For confectionery purposes, and as desired or convenient, manufacturers often produce and package bars in packs of two or more bars. Thus, the product is hereby defined as xe2x80x9ca confectionery barxe2x80x9d whether or not one serving may consist of more than one bar.
The invention relates to confectionery bars, which may or may not be enrobed with chocolate, yoghurt, peanut, carob or other type of coating material, in which the amount of proteinaceous material exceeds the amount of carbohydrate material. The carbohydrate material may consist of digestible carbohydrates alone, or mixtures of digestible carbohydrates with poorly digestible (or non-digestible) carbohydrates, or of poorly digestible carbohydrates alone. The carbohydrate material may be added as a solid, dry material, but is generally used as a concentrated solution.
The proteinaceous materials used for the invention may be binding proteins, filler proteins, or mixtures thereof.
The binding proteins may be any protein which has low absorption properties yet will emulsify and can create a matrix on hydration. Specific examples are:
Generally, the preferred properties of the binding proteins, from which a person skilled in the art should be able to identify other soy proteins that could be used are:
1) low water absorption, preferably less than 2.5 grams of water per gram protein at pH 5.5;
2) medium to high emulsification properties;
3) low to medium viscosity.
The filler proteins used for the invention may be any protein which has been denatured by processing to a low level of functional activity. Specific examples are:
In addition to the above fillers, caseinate having been heat treated before drum drying may also be used.
The preferred properties of the fillers, from which a person skilled in the art should be able to identify other fillers that could be used are:
1) low functionality in general, with in particular low water absorption and low viscosity.
Although not disclosed here, other proteins may be later found to possess the relevant properties and be suitable for the production of the present invention.
Effectively, any of the binding can be used with any of the filler proteins, but the optimal ratio will change for each combination, with the limiting values of 100% of binding protein on the one hand and, 100% filler protein on the other hand (for the caseinates and soy proteins as filler proteins only).
Thus, it is the properties of the mixture of proteinaceous material that are important. The ultimate choice depends on many factors including price, flavour and availability. For example, Alanate 312* is superior to Farbest 290* but has an obvious flavour which some people do not like. The, same applies to pea protein and some of the Profam* series. As far as price is concerned, egg albumen and whey protein are 4 to 5 times as expensive as soy, and would only be used if price was not a consideration. Wheat gluten is cheap, but has low nutritional value.
The best results for our purposes were obtained with PP-710* and Farbest 290* in the ratio 54:46. However, the ratio can vary as widely as from 65:35 to 40:60.
The carbohydrate material used for the invention may be a sugar polymer such as, for example, polydextrose in a 70% solution although sorbitol and xylitol may also be used in a 70% solution. This polymer is only partially metabolised in the human body. Most of the product passes through the body unabsorbed, and the principal utilisation pathway for the remainder involves metabolism by intestinal micro-organisms to form carbon dioxide and volatile fatty acids. Those acids can then be absorbed and utilised as an energy source so that in man the energy provided by polydextrose is 1 Kcal per gram. However, digestible carbohydrates may be used in the production of the present invention such as, for example, honey, glucose-fructose syrup, sucrose, cocoa butter, high-fructose corn syrup, peanut butter, nuts, and mixtures thereof.
The optional coating may be a conventional coating product freely available in the trade, or may be a custom-manufactured product containing greater amounts of protein than is usual (that is, 15% or more of the weight of the coating may consist of protein).